Thursday, February 28, 2008

Taken Down

After 5 weeks of winning 1st place in Team Trivia, we were taken down to 3rd place last night. It was a good ride and I'm sure we'll be able to jump right back on. We just need to watch more movies as that's what usually stumps us. It's a nice mid-week break to what seems to be like the longest work weeks ever.

I've come to the conclusion that my job bores me and that's why I dislike it so much. We have 3 lines and I've worked on all three with various combinations of co-workers. There is not one line that I actually will say I like to work on. Every so often I'm given a different task which will keep me from being bored for a day or so. The problem is that every line does just about the same thing but with a different packaging option. So you're either packing a roll or into a box or into a huge roll. It's all basically the same fricken thing day in and day out. We've all become comfortable with each other and know the work habits. We know when to stay out of the way of someone who's having a bad day, or how to get them out of it. Right now we're slow so they will begin moving people around to cross-train. This could be the highlight of the month. A few different faces.

I have to say that right about now I am in the same mode that I was 7 years ago when I quit my last job. Pure and utter hatred of the job and boredom. I have more to loose at this job and that's what irks me. In 3 more years I can leave there with my health insurance benefits available at employee cost. We have excellent benefits, the pay is good (although who doesn't want to make more)and we're treated decent. Because we're slow, there are rumors floating around. In the 7 years I've been there I've made it through 2 major reductions in the work force. It was so slow that they didn't hire anyone for 3 years. I've never been laid off which to me is a plus. There are times we went in and did cleaning for a week at a time and wished we could have sat home and collected UE benefits for the week but our company prides itself in not laying off.

This week is annual review week. Mine is scheduled for tomorrow. I'm not real sure if I can sit through another "great job" review. I used to be in a position where I wrote reviews so I know the scoop. I don't know if it's worse being on the giving or receiving end of a review. I've given bad ones, but never received a bad one. It's one of those things that I just read and discuss for a minute and walk out feeling like somethings missing. I need a challange that's far above what they give me for the up coming year. One that's actually obtainable and not just written for the simple fact that they need to write something. Plus I hate the fact that we're given the reviews now and have no clue of the money we're getting until May 1st. It's usually a little over the amount that our health insurance premiums raise each year.

So, it may be time to start looking into something that I can start to do now that will pay off for me in 3 years. Some kind of class or part-time job that will help me to get out of there May 14, 2011.

Monday, February 25, 2008

I Shared My Germs

Nothing like keeping the illness in the family. On Friday morning when I left for work all was well. That is except for the fact that I still had the illness. The cough had subsided a little but I went in with my bag of cough drops and 4 cold tablets to be taken during the day. I had a busy day Friday and had to get right home from work to get some food items prepared for the 40th Birthday party for Gambino. I had limited time to do these things as we were also joining our fellow Trivia Champs for a few beers.
I walked in the door after work to a sorry looking man. The first words out of his mouth were "Thanks for sharing" followed by a fit of coughing. My whole weekend was now down the tubes. When I'm sick I try to keep it to myself. I wallow in my self pity alone. I may cough and swear silently afterwards but I try to put on that it doesn't really bother me that much. When "A" is sick it is known to all mankind. He will wince at every cough, he will grip his chest like the big one's coming and he will walk around with a snotty wad of kleenex.
I give him credit as he did still want to go out Friday night, although he made it clearly evident that he was ill. We were home by 9:45 and he was in bed shortly afterward. He did have some things to do for the party on Saturday and got them down slowly. Sunday was another story. The man slept from 1 am until 1:30 Sunday afternoon. Got up one hour before we were having the family birthday party at our house. Lifted not one finger and once again made it quite clear that he was sick. Sick enough to take cough medicine. That's how I know he's really ill. Usually I have to coax him to take something. He did try the shot remedy on Saturday night which I don't think helped him much although he did sleep pretty soundly.
This morning he moaned loudly when his alarm went off. Mr "I don't take sick days" actually took a sick day today. He went in to open the place up and was back home within an hour. I myself went in but left at 11 to go to the doctor. My doctor visit produced nothing but a script for antibiotics which I need to take because of my hip replacement. They still worry that any infection could cause some problems with the hip. I only have a few more months unti that's in the clear. I was also told to continue taking the cough medicine I have been taking. It is a viral infection that will run it's course. My worry is now that he has this I may take a little longer to get over it.
I came home from the doctor to find my poor little pitiful man wrapped up in his bankie still sniffeling but not sounding as bad. I was kind enough to make sure he took his medicine, had something to eat and got him fresh pillow cases. I commented on how he never asked me if I was okay when I was sick. "You didn't ask for anything" was the answer.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

What The Hell??

I'm a pretty mild mannered person. I can keep my cool. I just become frustrated when I cannot fix something that is out of my means. Take for instance tonight. I'm tooling along cleaning out the fridge (a shopping day ritual) so mind you I am emptying out a lot of containers of left-overs and doing a general clean up of the kitchen and fridge. I then go to rinse out the containers before putting them in the dishwasher and find that the kitchen sink is not draining very fast. We do not have a garbage disposal, which I have to remind my husband of several times a week, so we need to scrape off any excess food prior to putting things in the sink. This story goes back to the weekend when I first noticed it and mentioned this little fact to him. The plunger, it seems, is in the back seat of his truck. Why? Well because last week the tragedy of the week was that his mothers toilet was flushing slow. He took our plunger over to her house to fix that problem. How many times has he gotten out of his truck at home since then? Hmmmm.
Naturally, he's at work tonight and I now have a double kitchen sink that will not drain. So when he made his usual "check In With The Wife call" and I nicely mentioned the problem it became very quiet on the other end. "Where is the plunger" I ask. " I'll take care of it when I get home" is the reply.
As I am typing this I can now hear the plunging of the kitchen sink in progress. Hopefully this will be a quick, non-messy job and won't entail taking any pipes off.
No swearing yet. All is quiet. Resume plunging....
I must add that I did find a plunger that was so small it didn't even fit over the drain properly and I was having trouble plunging one side and holding the drain down in the other. The dog didn't seem to interested in giving me a hand.
Something tells me this is more then a plunging job.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

In This Case..Sharing Sucks

As a child I was always taught to share. "Share your toys" I really didn't have to share my toys to much as up until I was 14 I was the only girl. "Share food" ha, I never got a chance as my brother would grab it from me before I could get my own bite. "Share the last drop of milk" didn't matter, I never really liked milk. "Share the tv" Once again I was ousted on that as the boys usually got to watch whatever they wanted to while I was helping mom with dinner or something.

Sharing can be somewhat over-rated. Take for instance the sick management people at work. Some of them rarely come out to the floor, however last week it was like they all had to come out and show us just how miserable they were. Come out and hack all over us and blow you nose's in front of us and then touch everything. They would leave and I would spray down things with alcohol. I would wear gloves to empty the garbage so as not to touch their snot rags.

On Sunday I started feeling a little bit of a scratchy throat. Took the NyQuil and headed off to bed a little early. Yesterday I felt good but had developed a cough. Not a bad one, enough that I could slip a cough drop in my mouth and I was fine. All hell broke loose today. I have developed the cold I hate the worst. The hacking, my chest is going to explode, my head is pounding and I have to constantly have a cough drop in my mouth so I don't bust into this hacking, dry cough. I blame them all. For the past week I took my vitamins, drank plenty of water, got extra vitamin C and washed my hands after touching anything these sick people touched.

One boss was out on the line today and was nice enough to tell me I looked like crap and wondered what day I'd be calling in sick this week. I told him I was going to drag myself in on my elbows and cough all over the office just to give this back to them. He said he thought I should stay home one day rather then spread it any further. "Okay, I'll do that and you pay me and don't ding me for it. I'll put an end to what you guys started."

What irks me the most is that I can usually go all winter with one major cold. One that I have to actually purchase medication for. This is number 3 this season. I know some of it may have to be due to the crazy weather but I dress for that. I WILL NOT LET THIS TAKE OVER!!!!!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Slamming the Thong

I know I'm going to get crap for this but I'm sure there are some ground rules for wearing a thong. First of all aren't undergarments sort of a private thing? I know the boys wear the crotch riding pants with the boxers showing as it's the style. Should a girl/woman wear crotch riding pants with a thong that is exposed when she reaches up, squats or bends over? Should you not wear a shirt that's either tucked in or long enough to cover this?

I know that there are certain bodies that can wear a thong in this fashion and no one cares as they have the right body for the look. Does everyone feel that because it may be the fashion, whether they be 85 lbs or 200 lbs that it'll look good? Come on girls. Here is my case....there is a girl at work that subjects us to her thong on a daily basis. It's to the point that the men at work are also commenting on her need to cover herself. We work in a manufacturing plant. Wear the proper clothing for the job. Hip Hugging flight pants with the crotch half way down to your knees is not the proper attire for someone who will have the need to bend over, kneel down or squat several times a day. We know you are uncomfortable in this attire as you are constantly tugging at your pants. Time to invest in new clothing or find clothes that fit you.

We are required to have our shirts tucked in unless we are wearing a banded at the waist sweatshirt. Not in her case. The tee shirt can be flapping in the wind. If we call her out on it she'll remark that her pants are to tight to tuck her shirt in. If the correct size is worn you will not have the plumers crack show. A belt would help also. Who gives a rat's ass what you look like in the industry you are employed in. You want to expose the thong and crack then get a job that pays you to show that off. For all of you who may now think I am bitching without just cause..it is not a pretty site. I may invest in a hidden camera (maybe a spy pen camera) to get a shot of this display.

As this girl was bent over today with lime green thong in clear view one of the guys on our line yells out "It's showtime". She actually turned around and smiled as if she thought there was something about her butt crack to admire. Because we work in such a "protected" work place people are careful about what they say. I almost busted a gut when another guy walked past her and made the comment that "Maybe it's time for bigger pants".

This is just not right.

Happy Valentines Day!!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

It's Sappy Movie Time

This just in....Milwaukee under yet another deep freeze. This comes as no shock to any of us (or it shouldn't) as we've had this pattern for the past month or so. Warm, snow, deep freeze. It's getting old. There is light at the end of the tunnel however as sooner or later (around mid-June) this should stop.

My weekend has now officially sucked. Friday morning I bent slightly to straighten out the quilt on our bed and felt this twinge go down my legs. Crap! As soon as I straightened back up I knew exactly what I was in for. I blew out the old back. This has not happened in years. I had gone through this period back some years where there was a constant pain in my lower back. I went through physical therapy, shots and finally was told nothing else would help except surgery. That wasn't going to happen. Then when the hip problem was discovered and the surgery finally done on that, the back issues went away. Granted I still have to be careful about lifting and back related things but I haven't had any problems.

The issue now seems to be that whenever I sit down for any lenght of time, getting up is a chore. I feel like I evolving from ape to man as I slowly straighten out. I did start doing some of the old stretching exercises from the past which are helping a little. Something as simple as a 10 minute car ride to Kohls yesterday turned into a little chore. Good thing I have a large truck and I can pop out and be somewhat hidded by the truck as I stand and try to adjust myself to a standing position. Sleeping has not been an issue and getting up from laying down has not been an issue. I just can't sit, which would be find except for the fact that I need to do that for several things.

Seeing that I can't really take any thing stronger than Aleve this may take a few days to cure. Funny how when an issue like this arises there are a lot of people I know who will offer out their prescription drugs. Some of my friends are walking medicine cabinets. Sure I have some stuff left over from my hip (I must remember to dispose of them) but the thing about hurting your back is that the pain meds will not make it go away. I need a stretching rack. Anyone have one of those.

The tv Gods must have predicted the deep freeze as every sappy movie is on this weekend. Sad thing is I've watched several of them. Half-hearted as I whipped through our taxes in a record 42 minutes. I did go back over them to assure they were done correctly.

Speaking of having problems getting up after being seated, I am done here. If this condition continues for very long I will have to ask my husband to rig up a stand so I can be more comfortable when on the computer. That will go over real well.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

White Death

The radio station I listen to on the way to work every day labeled today "White Death". I left my house about 15 minutes earlier than I usually do and wondered what the big fuss was about. The further north I got the worse it got. I opted for Hgh 100 vs. the freeway and I think I made a good choice. I figured I'd get to work and find that a lot of people would have called in. 1 lonely person called in.

As the day progressed we kept an eye outside. Around 11 am the radio announcer said "Don't be fooled by the lull in action out there. The worst is yet to come". Around 1pm I opened the door on our line only to be slapped in the face by snow. "Whiteout"! I yelled out, which led everyone else on the line to fall for the same face slapping. We thought for sure they'd tell us to go home. Not so lucky. A lot of the office workers left but we stayed until 3. I think I half scared our Process Engineer by noting the fact that he lived the closest and we may all go to his house and hunker down for a few hours. He has a keg and did mention that he had about 15 boxed pizza's in his fridge.

The normal 20 minute ride home took 47 minutes. The farther south I got the worse it was. By 84th & Layton it was difficult to see. I did notice that on 76th & Layton the orange neon signs of Hooters were lit up. Called my friend to let him know that the city was still alive!

Now is the sit and wait for some of this to die down and go assist the husband (who has been home since 10:30 am) with the clean up. I'm not sure we'll be attending Trivia tonight. Although I hate to miss it.

Hope everyone made it home safely.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Never Give A Cell Phone To 2 Drunks

Of course it all seems funny when you're making the phone calls...until the next day when people start to remind you that you did it. Or in J's case they email you and ask you to please interput the message you left them. Or in my case my daughter called me to laugh about it. Or in my parents case I will be eating bread crumbs when I go to visit them. Haven't talked to former boarder brother yet but I'm sure he'll call soon to give me shit. Thank God for the ability to view calls made.
Yes we did make some calls. We can blame it on the Vodka & Cranberry juice drinks we were consuming along with the Cherry bombs which were on special. I think we may have been drowning our sorrows due to all of our loss's at the Casino on Saturday. I did manage to "only" loose $50.00. I haven't been to Oneida in awhile and probably won't go back on purpose.
Beside the fact that I woke up at 5am with one heck of a queazy stomach I didn't feel all that bad. No headache. I just could not fall back to sleep. It was then that I reviewed the nights events. Laughing to yourself is not the same as sharing with your fellow partner in drunkeness.